Yilu Travel Services

Yilu Travel Services GmbH, founded in Berlin in 2018, operates a B2B platform designed to consolidate the fragmented travel market. The company originated within the digital innovation units of the Lufthansa Group and was established by co-founders Mark Meusch (CEO) and Sascha Günther (COO), both of whom possess backgrounds in the travel industry. Yilu functions as a technology provider for large travel companies, such as airlines and hotel chains, referred to as Enterprise Partners.

The firm's core offering is a single API that provides its enterprise clients with access to a curated ecosystem of third-party service providers, including ground transportation, hospitality, and local activities. This one-to-many integration model allows travel companies to offer ancillary services directly through their own apps and websites, aiming to reduce development and maintenance time for partners. By integrating these services, Yilu enables its clients to create new revenue streams and enhance the customer journey. The platform includes a client portal for real-time management and user activity insights. A key feature is its smart logic layer, which learns from user behavior to deliver automated, contextual, and personalized recommendations, thereby improving the travel experience for the end consumer.

The business model is centered on being an open B2B platform, not exclusive to Lufthansa, but available to the broader travel industry. The company's first public project was an integration with the airline Eurowings, a Lufthansa subsidiary, allowing customers to book mytaxi rides directly via the airline's app. This system automatically adjusts pickup times based on real-time flight information. Backed by the Lufthansa Innovation Hub, Yilu was established to build what its founders envision as an operating system for travel, aiming to provide a seamless, end-to-end service for travelers by bundling flights, ground transport, and other activities.

Keywords: B2B travel platform, travel API, ancillary services, travel technology, passenger experience, ground transportation integration, in-trip services, travel data analytics, personalized travel, travel ecosystem, airline technology, hotel technology, corporate travel solutions, Mark Meusch, Sascha Günther, Lufthansa Innovation Hub, travel management, booking integration, mobility services, contextual recommendations